2006 Georgia Student Media Festival

It's time to get ready for the 30th annual Georgia Student Media Festival. The Georgia Student Media Festival is designed to stimulate student interest and involvement in all types of media production by providing an opportunity for students to have their work shown and critiqued by a panel of expert judges. Students will also be able to gain inspiration by viewing the work of other students represented at the festival. Some examples of media production include, but are not limited to, electronic picture books, videos, and websites.

The Arts - A Lifetime of Learning

Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is the current Chairman of the Education Commission of the States (ECS). His initiative as Chairman is called "The Arts - A Lifetime of Learning". As part of this initiative, an interactive database that reports on policies for arts education for all 50 states and the District of Columbia has been developed. This is a great resource that will allow parents and educators to generate profiles of state policies for arts education on a state by state basis, compare states, and view policies across several states.

www.ecs.org/Huckabee

Irasshai's annual Nengajoo Project

Irasshai continues to celebrate its 10th anniversary by kicking off its annual Nengajoo (Japanese New Year's cards) Project. Every year students submit their digital or hard copy nengajoo to be posted on the Irasshai website. By the Chinese zodiac 2006 is inu-doshi, or Year of the Dog. Card designs can support this theme or other common New Year's symbols such as cranes, bamboo stalks, pine branches or Mt. Fuji. In addition to the illustration or design, the cards often include the words, "Akemashite omedetoo gozaimasu," or the Japanese equivalent of "Happy New Year!" Irasshai students will be submitting their nengajoo throughout January, so please stay tuned to our website to see their work.